360fly On A Roll With Spherical 4K 360-Degree Action Cam

360fly rolled out its first 360-degree 4K Ultra HD camera, a $499-suggested model that joins a current $399 1080p model launched last October.

The 360fly 4K camera is available online at 360fly.com and from such U.S. retailers as Best Buy, Target, REI, Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart and specialty retailers. The camera is also launching internationally.

The spherical-shaped cameras feature a single 360-degree top-mounted that captures 360-degree video without stitching multiple videos together. They can be mounted on a variety of sports equipment from helmets to surfboards as well as to a tripod.

The cameras transfer 360-degree videos via Wi-Fi to a connected smartphone or tablet, whose 360fly app uploads them to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social-media channels. On a tablet or phone touchscreen, users can move the video with a finger to view a scene from all angles. The video can also be viewed in one horizontal 360-degree spread.

The 360fly 4K camera is waterproof to 30 feet and offers a battery life of up to an hour and a half.

New features available in the 4K version include LIVIT live-streaming compatibility, front-facing camera mode, time-lapse video, GPS, telemetry-data capture, and expanded internal memory.

With LIVIT live streaming, users can live stream 360-degree content through the LIVIT mobile app. The front-facing camera mode, also called first-person point-of-view mode, captures a video or picture in traditional point-and-shoot style, recording videos and pictures with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 178- by 100-degree field of view.

The device captures telemetry information through its altimeter, accelerometer, and GPS sensor, which also tags locations. Users can track altitude and speed, and third-party applications can be used to overlay telemetry data onto 360-degree video content.

Internal memory goes to 64GB.

Also new is color-coded lighting around the OnePush control button and the bottom ring of the mounting dock for better visibility and mode recognition.